The Medium

The Medium, a horror title released on 2021-01-27, presents a demanding visual experience. This analysis examines the combination of an Intel Core i3-12100F and an AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT, using measured FPS data across three resolutions and four quality presets. The combo ranks 608th out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the upper tier of the database. The data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling at higher settings, while the CPU demonstrates sufficient headroom at lower presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS values show how the workload shifts as resolution increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 133.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 115.6 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 90.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This is a substantial but not catastrophic decline, indicating that even at 4K Low, the system remains well above 60 FPS. At Medium settings, the progression is 81.5 FPS (1080p), 69.2 FPS (1440p), and 57.8 FPS (4K). The 4K Medium result falls just below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting a playable but not perfectly smooth experience. High settings yield 60.5 FPS at 1080p, 49 FPS at 1440p, and 39.2 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K widens as quality increases, with the 4K High average being roughly two-thirds of the 1080p value. Ultra settings produce the steepest scaling: 50.8 FPS at 1080p, 40.2 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measurement below 32 FPS, indicating a heavy GPU load.

This scaling pattern suggests that the GPU becomes the primary limiting component at higher resolutions and quality presets. At Low settings, the frame rate remains high even at 4K, implying that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, appears sufficient for this game at lower settings, as evidenced by the 133.2 FPS at 1080p Low. However, as settings rise, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are taxed more heavily, and the FPS drops accordingly. The 16 GB GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth of the RX 7800 XT are substantial, yet the 4K Ultra result of 31 FPS shows that even this hardware struggles with the game's highest preset at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 608 out of 1689 places it in the top 36% of all tested combinations. This is consistent with the individual component percentiles: the CPU sits at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU at the 76th percentile among all GPUs. The CPU's average benchmark score of 13516 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which scores 13534 with a deltaPct of -0.1. The Intel Core i7-1250U (13462, +0.4), Intel Core i3-10105 (13430, +0.6), and Intel Core i7-7700K (13280, +1.8) are all within 1.8% of the i3-12100F's score. This indicates that the CPU's performance is well within the expected range for its class.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 32619 is similarly close to its nearest rivals. The AMD FirePro S9300 X2 scores 32540 with a deltaPct of +0.2, the NVIDIA P104-100 scores 32747 with -0.4, the NVIDIA T600 Mobile scores 32849 with -0.7, and the AMD FirePro S10000 scores 32388 with +0.7. All of these are within 0.7% of the RX 7800 XT's score, showing that the GPU's raw compute performance is competitive with a narrow band of other cards. The combo's rank reflects this balance: neither component is a standout outlier, but together they deliver solid performance in The Medium.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process. It features 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, along with 60 ray tracing cores. The GPU's base clock is 1295 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz and a boost clock of 2430 MHz. The memory operates at 2438 MHz, translating to 19.5 Gbps effective, across a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The 16 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is generous for a game like The Medium, which likely uses high-resolution textures.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU's behavior under load. At 1080p Low, the average of 133.2 FPS demonstrates that the GPU can deliver high frame rates when the workload is light. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 31 FPS, indicating that the GPU is heavily stressed. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 59.7 FPS (90.7 vs 31), which is larger than the corresponding gap at 1080p (133.2 vs 50.8, a difference of 82.4 FPS). This suggests that the GPU's performance scales non-linearly with settings, likely due to increased shading and memory pressure. The boost clock of 2430 MHz exceeds the game clock of 2124 MHz, implying that the GPU can reach higher frequencies under favorable conditions, but the sustained load at 4K Ultra may prevent it from maintaining that boost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes all measured average FPS values:

| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |

|------------|-----|--------|------|-------|

| 1920x1080 | 133.2 | 81.5 | 60.5 | 50.8 |

| 2560x1440 | 115.6 | 69.2 | 49.0 | 40.2 |

| 3840x2160 | 90.7 | 57.8 | 39.2 | 31.0 |

At 1080p, Low and Medium both exceed 80 FPS, while High just clears 60 FPS and Ultra falls to 50.8 FPS. For 1440p, Low and Medium remain above 60 FPS, but High and Ultra drop below that threshold. At 4K, only Low achieves a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, with Medium at 57.8 FPS being the only other preset close to playable. The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in quality costs a significant number of frames, and the cost increases with resolution. For example, moving from Medium to High at 1080p reduces the average from 81.5 to 60.5 FPS, a loss of 21 FPS. At 4K, the same transition drops from 57.8 to 39.2 FPS, a loss of 18.6 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 4K Ultra being the only measurement below 32 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, Medium offers an average of 81.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience. High at 60.5 FPS is also playable, but the extra visual fidelity may not justify the 21 FPS drop from Medium. Ultra at 50.8 FPS is below 60, so it is not recommended for high-refresh-rate displays. For 2560x1440, Medium at 69.2 FPS is the highest preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS. High at 49 FPS and Ultra at 40.2 FPS are playable but may feel less fluid. For 3840x2160, Low at 90.7 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Medium at 57.8 FPS is close, but it may be preferable to lower the resolution or accept a slightly lower frame rate. Ultra at 31 FPS is not recommended for a playable experience.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for 1080p and 1440p, while Low is the most practical choice for 4K. Players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate might consider High at 1080p or Medium at 4K, but the measured averages indicate that these choices come with a noticeable performance cost.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 50.8.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 608th out of 1689 tested combinations.

Q: What is the GPU's memory size and type?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock speed?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has a boost clock of 4.30 GHz.

Q: What is the GPU's boost clock speed?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT has a boost clock of 2430 MHz.

Q: What is the CPU's L3 cache size?

A: The CPU has 12 MB of shared L3 cache.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, and it boosts to 4.30 GHz. The CPU has a TDP of 58 W and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores include a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 11912 and a single-core result of 1681, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 7413 and a single-core score of 2224. The Passmark multi-thread score is 14015, and the single-thread score is 3444. The CPU's percentile rank is 72, and its average benchmark score of 13516 places it near the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534, -0.1) and the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462, +0.4).

In The Medium, the CPU's role is evident from the measured FPS at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the average of 133.2 FPS indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU without becoming a bottleneck. The 4-core, 8-thread configuration appears sufficient for this game, as the frame rate remains high even at 1440p Low (115.6 FPS). However, at higher settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU's performance is less critical. The single-thread score of 1681 in Cinebench R23 suggests strong per-core performance, which is beneficial for games that rely on a few threads. The CPU's 12 MB L3 cache and 8 threads provide adequate headroom for the game's logic and physics, but the data does not indicate any CPU-related stutters or frame drops, as all measured averages are consistent with GPU-bound scaling.